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THE RELATION 



OF THE 



KANSAS WATER COMMISSION 



TO THK 



FLOOD PROBLEM OF KANSAS 



BY 

PROF. H. A. RICE and ROGER C. RICE 
January, 1918 



Paper Read before the Kansas Engineering Society, at the Tenth Annual 

Meeting, held at Kansas State University, Lawrence, Kansas, 

on January 15 and 16 



1918 



Prepared in cooperation with United States Geological Survey 



PROF. H. A. RICE, 

Secretary, Kansas Water Commission; Professor Civil Engineering, 

Kansas State University 

ROGER C. RICE, 

District Engineer, U. S. Geological Survey 

Topeka, Kansas 



THE RELATION 



OF THE 



KANSAS WATER COMMISSION 



TO THE 



FLOOD PROBLEM OF KANSAS 



BY 

PROF. H. A. RICE and ROGER C. RICE 

January, 1918 



Paper Read before the Kansas Engineering Society, at the Tenth Annual 

Meeting, held at Kansas State University, Lawrence* Kansas, 

on January 15 and 16 



1918 



Prepared in cooperation with United States Geological Survey. 



PROF. H. A. RICE, 

Secretary, Kansas Water Commission; Professor Civil Engineering, 

Kansas State University 

ROGER C. RICE, 

District Engineer, U. S. Geological Survey, 

Topeka, Kansas 



KANSAS STATE PRINTING PLANT 

W. R. SMITH, State Printer 

TOPEKA. 19 18 

7-2440 



D. of D. 
APR 27 1918 






CONTENTS. 



page 

Introduction 5 

Disastrous floods in Kansas 6 

Factors determining maximum discharge 7 

Characteristics of Kansas watersheds 8 

Rainfall distribution in Kansas 9 

Encroachments on natural channels 10 

Destruction wrought by Kansas floods 10 

History of flood prevention in Kansas 11 

Investigations by the U. S. Geological Survey 11 

Investigations by the U. S. Army Engineers 13 

Kaw Valley Drainage District and its fight for flood protection at 

Kansas City, Kans 14 

Investigations by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Neosho 

and Marais des Cygnes Valleys 15 

The Kansas Flood and Water Congress 17 

The Kansas Water Commission act 19 

The Kansas Water Commission: A review 21 

The law 21 

The organization 21 

How financed 22 

Litigation over the Kansas sand law and its bearing on the financing 

of the Kansas Water Commission 22 

Constitutionality of the Kansas sand law decided 23 

Limitations of the present wording of the Water Commission law .... 23 

Functions of the Kansas Water Commission 24 

Investigation of the flood problem ' 24 

Cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey 25 

River gaging stations in Kansas, established or proposed by the 
Kansas Water Commission, in cooperation with the U. S. 

Geological Survey 26 

Cooperation with the U. S. Weather Bureau 27 

U. S. Weather Bureau river gages in Kansas 27 

Stream gaging in Kansas 28 

Reconnaissance for gaging station . . . .' 28 

Construction of gaging station 29 

Measurement of discharge: The current meter 31 

Measurement of discharge: How made 31 

Measurement of discharge: The stage-discharge relation 32 

Publication of results of stream gaging 33 

Summary and conclusion , . '. 34 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plate I. Kansas river at Topeka, Kans., during 1903 flood 6 

II. A, Price current meters; B, Typical gaging station 30 

III. Water-stage recorders: A, Stevens; B, Gurley printing; C, 

Friez 31 



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The Relation of the Kansas Water Commission to the 
Flood Problem of Kansas. 

By Prof. H. A. Rice and Roger C. Rice. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The patriotic response by the citizens of Kansas to the na- 
tional appeal to increase the acreage planted to grain for 1918 
has been reported in detail by the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture, Bureau of Crop Estimates, by Edward C. Paxton, field 
agent for Kansas, in his report dated December 19, 1917, which 
states in part as follows : 

"Indications are that 9,480,000 acres were seeded to winter wheat in 
Kansas this fall. This is within one percent of as large an acreage as 
was seeded in the fall of 1916, which was the largest ever planted to this 
crop in the history of the state. Kansas farmers undoubtedly did their 
best to come up to the 10,000,000-acre mark recommended for them by the 
United States Department of Agriculture." 

As the agricultural situation of Kansas is closely interrelated 
with the partially solved water problems of the state, it seems 
desirable for such an organization as the Kansas Engineering 
Society to consider some of the contributing causes for the 
recent adoption by the state of a constructive state-wide water- 
conservation policy and the tremendously important part it will 
play in the development of a more secure agricultural pros- 
perity. 

War conditions, in their relation to the food supply of the 
nation, demand not only that the crops planted in Kansas shall 
be larger than ever before attempted, but that their ultimate 
yield shall be as certain as modern scientific farming and the 
science of engineering can make them, for failure in this or 
next season's food supply means not merely financial loss at 
home, but a weakening of our first-line defenses and those of 
our allies. The failure becomes not only sectional, but national 
and international in its effect. The time has now come when 
the state must work toward greater protective measures to 
insure the agricultural output from disastrous consequences 
resulting from unfavorable climatic conditions which can be 

(5) 



6 Kansas Water Commission. 

controlled through the application of engineering, that some of 
the annually present unknown factors may be eliminated from 
the forecast of the crop yields. 

Each season brings with it the same uncertainties — possible 
floods and droughts. As much of the cultivated land lies along 
the fertile river bottoms that annually are liable to overflow, 
the control of the flood waters on these rivers and their tribu- 
taries is one of the consequences that demands early solution. 
This is, as you readily perceive, a proper subject for Kansas 
engineers to seriously consider, that they may give to agricul- 
ture the assistance that the science of engineering has ren- 
dered so effective in the accomplishment of those modern mir- 
acles that are the wonder of the arid West. 

The machinery for such a state-wide water-conservation 
policy has already been provided by the last state legislature in 
the creation of the Kansas Water Commission for the investi- 
gation and control of the water problems of Kansas, with power 
to cooperate with similar federal organizations. This is, as you 
are aware, a big step forward toward the ultimate solution of 
the complex problems that are holding back our state-wide 
agricultural development. 

It now becomes necessary for the next legislature to perfect 
the Water Commission organization by providing an adequate 
appropriation for its work, in order that it may proceed on a 
scale commensurate with the importance of the investigations. 
The present critical food situation serves only to emphasize the 
need for the speedy accomplishment of this work. 

Time will not permit of the discussion of all phases of the 
water-conservation policy in detail and their bearing on the 
agricultural situation. The one phase selected for this discus- 
sion, "The relation of the Kansas Water Commission to the 
flood problem of Kansas," it is hoped, will stimulate a broader 
perspective with which to meet these new war-time economic 
problems of Kansas involving the utilization of the undeveloped 
water resources of the state. 

DISASTROUS FLOODS IN KANSAS. 

Occasional heavy floods have occurred in the valleys of east- 
ern Kansas at infrequent intervals, which have been the sub- 
ject of much investigation by various state and federal organi- 
zations. The years 1844 and 1903 are associated with excep- 
tionally disastrous floods in the Kaw Valley (PI. I). Floods of 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 7 

lesser magnitude, but of widespread loss and injury to prop- 
erty, have occurred in the interim, the most recent being that 
of 1915. The Marais des Cygnes and Neosho river valleys have 
also been subjected to serious floods at frequent intervals, 
which have caused great damage and loss to growing crops and 
injury to other property. Among those that have occurred may 
be noted the floods of 1826, 1844, 1885, 1903, 1904 and 1909. 
Judging from the experience of the past flood history of Kan- 
sas "streams, it may be safely predicted that the flood problem 
will increase in seriousness with each succeeding year, as the 
country is now being more thickly settled and improved. It is 
logical to inquire why eastern Kansas is subject to floods, in 
order that a better understanding may be had to provide ade- 
quate protection. Let us, therefore, consider briefly some of 
the more important factors contributing to flood discharge, 
and review the dominating characteristics of the drainage 
areas of Kansas streams. 

FACTORS DETERMINING MAXIMUM DISCHARGE. 

The maximum discharge of a stream depends on several 
factors or conditions, among the most important of which are 
the following: 1 

"1. Extent, duration, and intensity of precipitation, especially the 
latter in the case of small drainage basins. 

"2. Direction of motion of the storm causing the flood. If the storm 
moves in the direction of flow of the stream the intensity of flood will be 
greater than if it moves in the opposite direction or across it. 

"3. The amount of snow on the ground and the temperature during 
the storm. Large floods are often due largely to melting snow when the 
ground is frozen, and in such cases the run-off is much larger than the 
rainfall. 

"4. The storage, both natural and artificial, in the drainage basin. 
Storage spreads the flood over a larger period and thus reduces the maxi- 
mum rate of flow. 

"5. The size of the drainage basin. Rain storms of great intensity 
generally cover a comparatively small area, and a larger part of a small 
drainage basin is more likely to be covered by a very intense storm than 
of a larger basin. The maximum discharge per square mile will, there- 
fore, increase as the size of the drainage basin decreases. 

"6. The physiography of the drainage basin. The maximum rate of 
flow from a comparatively long and narrow drainage basin, with tribu- 
taries entering a considerable distance apart, will be less than from a 

1. "Factors determining maximum discharges," by E. C. Murphy, in "Destructive 
floods in the United States in 1904," Water-supply and Irrigation Paper No. 147, U. S. 
Geological Survey, pp. 182-183. 



8 Kansas Water Commission, 

basin of nearly circular shape of the same size, but with the tributaries 
entering the main stream in close proximity. Steep, impervious, deforested 
slopes of drainage basin, steep slope of bed of tributaries, and small slope 
of main stream, intensify flood flow. 

"Among the more or less artificial conditions that increase the flow 
may be mentioned controlled storage in the basin; deforestation and 
cultivation ; reduction in width of channel by placing abutments of 
bridges in the stream; the use of piers that prevent scour of bed, collect 
drift, and hold back a part of the flow for a time, causing a greatly in- 
creased flood wave; the formation of ice gorges; and the failure of dams 
and reservoir walls." 

CHARACTERISTICS OF KANSAS WATERSHEDS. 

Reference to the map of Kansas shows that Kansas River 
and its principal tributaries — the Blue, Republican, Solomon, 
Saline and Smoky Hill rivers — drain the entire northern half of 
the state; the Arkansas River drains the southwestern and 
south central parts ; the Marais des Cygnes and the Verdigris 
rivers occupy smaller basins in the southeastern portion, with 
the Neosho River in between them, draining a long and narrow 
basin. 

With the exception of the Arkansas River, which has its 
source in the snow-capped mountain ranges of Colorado, these 
other rivers head in the Great Plains region, and their water 
supplies depend solely upon rainfall. The surface storage in 
these basins is very small, as there are no lakes, ponds or 
swamps to hold back the flow, and no mountain ranges to hold 
back the winter precipitation. For these reasons we find the 
minimum flow of these streams very small and the flood dis- 
charges large. 

Perhaps the most striking characteristics of these Kansas 
river valleys are (1) the rolling uplands and (2) the broad, flat 
bottom lands that are under a high state of cultivation. 
Through them the rivers meander tortuously, with easy gra- 
dients, usually hugging one bank or the other for considerable 
distances, then swinging back and forth in toward one bank or 
the other. In eastern Kansas the rivers are fringed with 
timber, but to the west this becomes more and more scant, 
practically disappearing at the ninety-eighth meridian, which 
is also practically the western limit of the flood-producing area. 

In the Kansas river basin, the Blue and the Republican 
rivers, in Kansas, drain areas subject to severe summer rains 
that make them especially active flood-producing tributaries. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 9 

The Republican is wide and shallow, with a rapid descent, and 
the bed is largely shifting quicksand. It is subject to sudden 
rises and falls, and occasionally overflows its banks. The Blue 
also has a considerable fall in its lower reaches, and is the prin- 
cipal power stream in the state. 

The banks of the Marais des Cygnes and the Neosho rivers 
are overhung with heavy growths of timber that are contin- 
ually being undermined during periods of high water, and the 
trees are washed into tne river channels. Many trees find 
lodgement on sand bars and add to the formation of objection- 
able obstructions to the free flow of the water and augment the 
flood hazard. Much of the bottom land along these rivers is 
low, so that it does not take a large rise in the streams to cause 
considerable overflow at various sections. Usually one bank or 
the other is low, so that the extent of overflowed area during 
such periods is large. 

RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION IN KANSAS. 

The mean annual rainfall over Kansas decreases from about 
37 inches in the extreme eastern part to about 15 inches in the 
western part of Kansas. In the eastern third of the state, in- 
cluding the lower Kansas River and the Blue River, the mean 
rainfall during the crop-growing season, April to September, 
inclusive, amounts to 25.97 inches. This is the highest aver- 
age for these months shown in the central Mississippi Valley 
section. Such a phenomenal high average is accounted for by 
the severe torrential downpours that occur in this section and 
which cause the severe floods. The rainfall of May, 1903, that 
produced the disastrous flood in Kaw Valley totaled more than 
half the mean rainfall during the crop-growing season. Under 
normal conditions the rainfall for May is only about 14 percent 
of the mean annual rainfall. 

The precipitation over Kansas is of the plains type, 71 to 78 
percent of the annual amount falling during the crop-growing 
season. It is because of these phenomena that the water prob- 
lems of the state are so closely interrelated with the problems 
of agriculture, especially the flood problem. 



10 Kansas Water Commission. 

ENCROACHMENTS ON NATURAL CHANNELS. 

Another source of danger during the high-water season that 
adds to the flood menace, and especially to the loss of life and 
damage to movable property, for which we have ourselves to 
blame, is the tendency for congesting the already too-small 
river-channel capacities, especially in the vicinity of thickly 
settled communities, by structures of various kinds and other 
forms of encroachments. This was especially brought into 
prominence at Kansas City, Kans., by the flood of 1903. It was 
estimated that the capacity of the natural channel of the Kan- 
sas River to carry great floods had been diminished one-half by 
such encroachments. In a similar way it has been pointed out 
that the Main Street bridge at Ottawa over the Marais des 
Cygnes River seriously contracts the channel and acts as a 
dam to hold back the flood waters of that river for a long 
distance west of Ottawa. Other instances are too familiar to 
require mention. 

DESTRUCTION WROUGHT BY KANSAS FLOODS. 

The destruction wrought by Kansas floods depends a great 
deal upon the severity of the storm, the nature and extent of 
the area overflowed, and the opposition encountered by the 
high water on its path down the valley. 

The loss of life in the 1903 flood in Kaw Valley was small 
considering the population driven from their homes and the 
rapid approach and vastness of the flood. 

Property losses for the 1903 flood were estimated at $22,- 
000,000 in Kansas and Kansas City, Mo., alone, and were con- 
sidered small when compared with the great value of the prop- 
erty menaced by the flood. 

Property losses in Kansas due to floods will always be large, 
for two reasons: (1) much of the overflowed land is under 
cultivation and lies in the river bottoms; and (2) many large 
cities are located in the river valleys in eastern Kansas. 

Inundation of these lands and cities i,s the cause of prop- 
erty losses of various kinds, among which may be enumerated 
the following: (a) Loss of farm stock; (b) loss of stock at 
packing houses; (c) loss of growing and stored crops; (d) 
ruin of young orchards; (e) spoiling of household furniture 
and clothing; (/) flooding of cellars and loss and damage to 
goods stored therein; (g) flooding of pumping plants; (h) 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 11 

flooding of sewers, with possible serious consequences to the 
health of the community; and (i) crippling of public utilities 
Much loss and damage is done by pressure and the trans- 
porting power of flood water. Houses are floated off down- 
stream ; drift accumulates at bridges, and these are pushed off 
their supports; railroad track is undermined or washed out; 
and often valuable agricultural lands are ruined by the deposi- 
tion of sand and gravel on them from the overflow. 

HISTORY OF FLOOD PREVENTION IN KANSAS. 

Destructive floods have occurred so frequently, especially in 
some of the smaller watersheds, that the most optimistic 
farmers are disheartened. Unless constructive measures for 
protection are worked out the psychological effects of such 
crop failures is readily apparent. Tenants with small capital 
prefer to farm the less productive uplands rather than ex- 
perience the uncertainties of loss by inundation of the more 
fertile bottom lands by these ever-recurring floods. Although 
disastrous floods do not occur throughout the valleys every 
year, there are many places where the lands are so low that 
they rarely escape some damage every season. For these and 
other reasons, there has been a constantly increasing demand 
that the state or the federal government investigate these con- 
ditions and suggest ways and means for adequate protection 
from floods. 

The following brief history of the growth of this flood- 
protection movement, presented herewith, shows that substan- 
tial progress has already been made in this direction. 

Investigations by the United States Geological Survey. 

The ground work for all later investigations of the water 
resources of Kansas was laid as early as 1895 by the United 
States Geological Survey in connection with its study of the 
water resources of the United States. "Previous to 1888 mat- 
ters of this kind were frequently the subject of special inquiry 
in connection with topographic or geologic surveying, but it 
was not until the authority was specifically conferred by the 
acts of March 20 and October 2, 1888, that the subject became 
one of separate and continuous inquiry." 2 "The work was be- 

2. Introduction, 19th Ann. Rept. U. S. Geological Survey, 1898, Part IV, Hydrog- 
raphy, p. 17. 



12 Kansas Water Commission. 

gun in 1888 in connection with special studies of water supply 
for irrigation. Since the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, 
successive sundry civil bills passed by Congress have carried 
the following item and appropriations : 3 

"For gaging the streams and determining the water supply of the 
United States, and for the investigation of underground currents and 
artesian wells, and for the preparation of reports upon the best methods 
of utilizing the water resources." 

Annual appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1895-1918: 

1895 $12,500 

1896 20,000 

1897 to. 1900, inclusive 50,000 

1901 to 1902, inclusive 100,000 

1903 to 1906, inclusive 200,000 

1907 150,000 

1908 to 1910, inclusive 100,000 

1911 to 1918, inclusive 150,000 

In Kansas the State Board of Irrigation, Survey, Experi- 
ment and Demonstration cooperated with the work of the 
United States Geological Survey, with Prof. E. C. Murphy, of 
the engineering department of Kansas State University, in 
charge of the work in eastern Kansas, and W. G. Russell, in 
charge of the work in western Kansas. Prof. O. P. Hood, of 
Kansas State Agricultural College, cooperated in securing 
records on Blue River near Manhattan. 

From 1895 to 1906 records of discharge of Kansas streams 
were. made at many important points. The long-time records 
thus secured have been invaluable in assisting in the flood- 
prevention plans that have been developed or proposed from 
time to time. These data, which have been published in the 
several publications of the Geological Survey, many of which 
are now out of print or no longer easily available, are now be- 
ing compiled into one volume for ready reference, to be pub- 
lished by the United States Geological Survey as a Water- 
Supply Paper, entitled "Water Resources of Kansas." 

Mention can only be made at this time of the underground 
investigations that have also been part of the general investi- 
gations of the Geological Survey along with the surface wa- 
ters investigations in Kansas. As geologic conditions modify 
the distribution of such underground supplies, their survey is 
more laborious. The published results are, however, impor- 

[ntroduction ot Water-Supply Papers, U. 3. Geological Survey. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 13 

tant contributions to the irrigation investigations and the irri- 
gation development of the semiarid portion of the state, which 
is dependent largely upon the artesian waters for irrigation 
and water supply. 

Investigations by the United States Army Engineers. 

No comprehensive plan for flood prevention in the several 
river basins seems to have been followed in the state until the 
disastrous flood of 1903 in the Kaw Valley brought the urgent 
need and the practical value of such a policy forcibly before 
the consideration of the citizens of Kansas. It is true that in 
certain localities, where flood conditions were causing consid- 
erable damage to the bottom lands, some individual efforts 
had been made, and still are being made, to prevent overflow, 
but the majority of the levees thus constructed are too small, 
do not have the proper cross-section, and are not properly 
located to serve the best interest of the section effectively. 

Prior to the public meetings held by a special board of army 
engineers in Kansas City, Mo., 1903, after the 1903 flood, no 
comprehensive plan for flood protection by the municipalities 
or private interests at Kansas City had been formulated. 4 

"The attitude of the railroads was that, from a business standpoint, 
they were not justified in investing large sums of money for insurance 
from excessive floods, as these occurred only at rare intervals, the pre- 
vious flood being 1844. The municipalities believed it almost hopeless to 
get effective cooperation from all interested parties, and were endeavor- 
ing to make the best of the situation by projecting new grades and 
levees. Many bridges, however, were being reconstructed without re- 
gard to the lesson taught by the 1903 flood." 4 

"The findings of the special board of army engineers were given in 
three reports, as follows: 5 

"(a) Report on harbor lines at Kansas City. 

"(b) Report on obstructive bridges over the Kansas River. 

"(c) Report of flood conditions on the Kansas River. 

^The matter of flood conditions was investigated at length; the mat- 
ter of harbor lines was deferred until surveys and further investigations 
could be made. 

"During 1909 and 1910, surveys were made by the United States army 
engineers, and harbor lines were approved by the Secretary of War, 
June 24, 1910. . . .6 

4. From "Preliminary report by Kansas Water Commission on the effect of obstruc- 
tions to navigation and flood prevention by Kansas City Northwestern Railway Company's 
bridge on Kansas River at Kansas City, Kansas," August. 1917, pp. 6-7. 

5. Senate Document No. 160, 58th Congress, 2d Session. 

6. House Document No. 94, 62d Congress, 1st Session, p. 9. 



14 Kansas Water Commission. 

"Kansas River was not generally considered to be a navigable stream 
prior to 1903, although some work had been done by the federal govern- 
ment on river improvement at its mouth. No supervision of bridges 
across the Kansas River had been exercised by the government prior to 
1903, and none of the bridges were equipped with draw spans. A de- 
cision by the United States circuit court, district of Kansas, in a suit 
between Kaw Valley Drainage District vs. Missouri Pacific and Union 
Pacific Railroad Companies, definitely settled the status of the river. 
The court found: 

" 'That the Kansas River from its mouth to a point several miles above 
the city of Argentine is a navigable stream, and that the bridge of the 
defendant as now constructed and maintained is an obstruction to the 
navigation thereof.' 

"The court required the bridge to be raised and widened, and that all 
piling, riprapping and other similar obstructions in the channel of the 
stream under said bridge be removed. Thus was established by a ju- 
dicial decision the fact that the Kansas River is a navigable stream under 
the jurisdiction of the War Department.' "" 

The War Department, through its United States army engi- 
neers, has cooperated with the Kaw Valley Drainage District 
at Kansas City in combining proposed flood-prevention plans 
and plans for navigation improvements, as far as practicable 
and feasible, since the formation of that district in 1905. 

fc Kaw Valley Drainage District and Its Fight for Flood Protection at 

Kansas City, Kans. 

The next constructive step forward looking toward the 
adoption of a state-wide water-conservation policy was the 
formation of the Kaw Valley Drainage District, organized 
under the laws of the state of Kansas in the spring of 1905, 
under chapter 215, Session Laws of 1905, as a permanent 
body, which was governed by the Kaw Valley Drainage Board. 
Under the state laws this board was given authority — 

"To take charge of and exercise exclusive control over natural water- 
courses within its territorial limits in the interest of flood protection, 
and may condemn and cause obstructions in such watercourses to be 
removed. ... To have all obstructions wrongfully placed in the 
channel of natural water courses adjudged public nuisances and abated as 
such. ... To prescribe, regulate and fix the height of the superstruc- 
tures above the water, the length of all spans and the location of the 
piers of all bridges across watercourses situated in the district." 8 

The jurisdiction of the Drainage Board extends over all lands 
included in the district subject to overflow, extending from the 

7. House Docuiu.nl No. 584, 68(1 Congress, 2d Session; pp. 32-33. 
Souse Document No. 584, <i:*<l Congress, 2d Session, p. 32. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 15 

mouth of the Kansas River to about four miles above Turner, 
Kans. It has powers of taxation, and in that way represents all 
landowners along that part of the river. Plans for river im- 
provements were formulated and financed by bond issues for 
the purpose of placing the district in a condition to avoid the 
consequences of another flood similar to that of 1903. Up to 
1917 ten of the eleven bridges in the 734-foot harbor-line sec- 
tion have finally been made to conform to the requirements of 
the federal government and the Kaw Valley Drainage District. 
The Kansas City Northwestern Railway Company's bridge 
alone does not yet conform to these plans. 

While the flood situation at several points along the Kansas 
River has been decidedly improved since the 1903 flood through 
the activities of drainage districts — such as the Kaw Valley 
Drainage District at Kansas City, and the North Topeka Drain- 
age District and the South Side Levee District No. 6 at Topeka 
— no comprehensive plan for relieving the flood situation in the 
entire Kaw Valley has yet been made. The drift menace is only 
one of the incidental problems that still threatens the per- 
manent improvements that already have been built. 

Investigations by the United States Department of Agriculture in Neosho 
and Marais des Cygnes Valleys. 

In the Neosho and in the Marais des Cygnes valleys, how- 
ever, comprehensive plans have been made based upon detailed 
field investigations made by the United States Department of 
Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations. The Neosho Valley 
investigation was made in 1906 and that of the Marais des 
Cygnes in 1909, both at the urgent petition of numerous resi- 
dents of these valleys, respectively, who (in the case of the 
Marais des Cygnes) "urged in the petition that a thorough ex- 
amination and survey of the valley conditions, for the purpose 
of ascertaining what works would be needed for the relief of 
the property owners, would be of great service to the people in 
their efforts to reclaim their lands." 9 

In consideration of the plans for the proposed improvements, 
the rainfall records of the United States Weather Bureau, and 
especially the stream-flow data that have been secured in the 
past by the United States Geological Survey, play a very im- 

9. Introduction, "Reclamation of overflowed lands in Marais des Cv°nes Valley, 
Kansas," U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bull. 234, p. 7. 



16 Kansas Water Commission. 

portant part in determining the height of the proposed levees 
and the areas of the proposed waterways that have to be pro- 
vided for the safe passage of the flood waters. 

The conclusions reached in the Neosho Valley investigation 
include this statement : 

"The data for determining the height of levees and the width of water- 
way between them are unsatisfactory in many respects. The run-off of 
the Neosho River after the banks are full has not been determined with 
any degree of accuracy. The specifications for these two important 
factors of the flood channel have been made after ascertaining the amount 
discharged by other streams whose flood flow has been measured quite 
accurately, and whose watershed is similar to that of the Neosho basin." 10 

It is well to note that the record of Neosho River near Iola, 
Kans., maintained by the United States Geological Survey for 
the period 1895 to 1903, was the only long-time stream-flow 
record that was available for this investigation. 

The conclusion reached in the Marais des Cygnes Valley in- 
vestigation include the following statement : 

"There is a great need of accurate gagings and measurements to deter- 
mine the flood flow of the Marais des Cygnes River. In the absence of 
such data all computations are, at best, but roughly approximate, and re- 
sults must be safeguarded by making liberal allowances for unknown 
factors."" 

Here, also, the only records of stream flow available upon 
which to base an estimate of flood discharge were those for the 
gaging station on Marais des Cygnes River at Ottawa, Kans., 
maintained by the United States Geological Survey for the pe- 
riod 1902 to 1905. 

These two investigations pointed the way for future reclama- 
tion work on a large scale and stimulated action by drainage 
districts 'organized under the laws of the state. Indirectly they 
showed the need for a governing body with power to direct 
and coordinate these internal improvements along the lines of 
some constructive state-wide conservation policy. The cus- 
tomary method of seeking relief by uncoordinated legislation 
at each session of the legislature diffused rather than focused 
responsibility, and was not entirely satisfactory. It was finally 
decided in 1915 to hold a congress at which all phases of the 
water problems of the state might be considered at length, to 
the end that some workable water policy might be formulated 

10. "The prevention of injury by floods in the Neosho Valley," U. S. Dept. of Agri- 
culture, Bull. 198, p. 42. 

11. "Review and conclusions," in •"Reclamation of the overflowed lands in the Marais 
des Cygnes Valley, Kansas,'' V. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Hull. 234, p. 43. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 17 

that would give shape to future legislation, pave the way for 
economic development, and be beneficial to the future prosperity 
of Kansas. Coupled with these internal matters was the grow- 
ing need for a representative state organization that could 
work with the federal government in the inland waterways 
project, of which the state of Kansas is an integral part, that 
still remains one of the unsolved national economic and engi- 
neering undertakings of the future. 

The Kansas Flood and Water Congress. 

"On July 9, 1915, in response to a general call issued by Governor 
Capper, there convened at Topeka a meeting of representative citizens 
from all parts of the state to discuss flood protection. 

"The people of Kansas seemed to realize the importance of the flood- 
prevention problem, and some two hundred business men, representing 
the civic and commercial bodies and also the large railroad companies, re- 
sponded to the call. A permanent organization was effected, known as 
the Kansas Flood and Water Congress. 

"Provision was made for the appointment of representatives from 
each city and county and from each drainage district, and for the ap- 
pointment of an executive committee of twelve men, with subcommittees 
on engineering, legislation, finance, and publicity." 12 

The preliminary report of the engineering committee, by 
Mr. H. B. Walker, drainage and irrigation engineer, Kansas 
State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kans., was the only 
one submitted by the various committees held in 1916. This 
report summarizes the conclusions of the engineering com- 
mittee as follows : 

"General Summary. 

"1. We believe the cooperation and aid of the federal government is 
necessary in working out a comprehensive and satisfactory system for 
flood abatement in Kansas. 

"2. We believe a permanent state flood committee is essential in 
making a comprehensive study of the Kansas flood problem, and we 
further believe that this committee should be the official body acting for 
the state in matters relating to state and federal aid. 

"3. We urge the reestablishment of the stream-gaging stations in 
this state which were formerly maintained by the United States Geo- 
logical Survey. 

"4. We recommend that preliminary action should be immediately 
formulated for the purpose of enacting adequate state legislation 
whereby the state would be empowered to make a comprehensive study 
of the Kansas flood conditions. 

12. "Drainage and flood protection," by Robert Waldie, 1917, in The Kansas Engi- 
neer, 1916-1917, No. 3, p. 61. 



18 Kansas Water Commission. 

"General Discussion. 

"Federal aid essential. Conservative estimates place the Kansas flood 
losses at approximately fifty-two million dollars during the past thirteen 
years. This means that Kansas is sustaining an annual property loss of 
approximately four million dollars. In addition to these direct losses are 
many other losses which cannot be given a money value. Not the least 
of these is the loss of human lives, which has been upwards to one 
hundred during the past thirteen years. The citizens of the state gen- 
erally recognize the seriousness of our flood situation and they are look- 
ing forward to some proposed plan of relief. 

"As a state undertaking, however, the problem appears to be too com- 
plicated for a possible economic solution. The principal drainage areas 
where heavy flood losses have been sustained pass beyond the political 
boundaries of the state into neighboring states. Some of the streams 
have their headwaters in Kansas, tut are, on the other hand, controlling 
and important tributaries to the flood conditions in adjacent states. Kan- 
sas might propose a state flood plan which would be an economic hin- 
drance to the flood control in neighboring states, and in a similar manner 
neighboring states might complicate our own problems. It is evident 
that the aid, cooperation and regulation of the federal government is 
essential to work out in a comprehensive way a practical plan of relief. 

"Permanent flood committee. Any plan for flood abatement or relief 
will affect directly or indirectly the interests of citizens of the state. It 
is apparent that the cost of flood-protection works must be paid, to a 
great extent at least, by funds acquired from citizens of Kansas by some 
method of direct or indirect taxation. As a state, then, Kansas will have 
a very direct interest in the solution of this problem. 

"We believe a permanent state flood committee should be appointed to 
act officially for the state in matters relating to methods of control, taxa- 
tion and federal aid. The guiding influence of the federal government 
is necessary to work out the flood problem without reference to political 
state boundaries, but the execution of these plans and the solution of 
local drainage problems will probably depend largely upon the various 
state governments. 

"A comprehensive plan must be systematically executed, and Kansas 
should be prepared, through some simple method of state organization, to 
take care of these conditions. 

"We believe a state committee, composed largely of engineers, is neces- 
sary for the purpose of gathering information for use in federal aid, as 
well as to act as an official state body, should definite and comprehensive 
plans of protection be inaugurated. 

Legislation. Kansas laws are not sufficiently adequate to permit the 
state to engage actively in the solution of our flood problem. As a state 
we desire federal aid, and we believe the state should fortify its sin- 
cerity toward federal aid by enacting laws favorable to cooperative in- 
vestigations. 

"The flood problem of Kansas will not become less complicated with 
time. In fact, delay means more complications and greater efforts to 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 19 

secure correct data upon which to formulate methods of control. In- 
vestigations may not bring forth an immediately practical solution of our 
problems, but the data obtained will have a definite future value to the 
state. We earnestly urge the enactment of such legislation as will en- 
able the state to make a careful study of Kansas flood problems." 

These recommendations were embodied in a Water Commis- 
sion bill that was presented to the 1917 session of the state leg- 
islature, and was one of the important legislative enactments 
of that body. 

THE KANSAS WATER COMMISSION ACT. 

To fully understand and appreciate the importance of the 
state-wide water-conservation policy that the state has so re- 
cently adopted, the water-commission law is quoted here in 
full: 

Chapter 172, Session Laws of Kansas, 1917 (Page 218). 

AN ACT relating to floods, drainage, water power, domestic water supply, navigation, 
irrigation, and providing for state control of all matters relating thereto and providing 
for a Water Commission in the state of Kansas. 

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: 

Section 1. A commission, which shall be known as the Kansas Water 
Commission, is hereby created for the purpose of investigating and con- 
trolling the problems of flood prevention, drainage, domestic water supply, 
water power, navigation and irrigation in the state of Kansas. But said 
commission shall not interfere with any drainage system now established 
in drainage districts created under existing laws. 

Sec 2. The Kansas Water Commission shall be composed of three 
persons, of which the governor shall be ex officio chairman, and two civil 
engineers, who shall be, or be qualified to be, at least associate members 
of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and shall be appointed by the 
governor to hold office for four years, or until their successors are ap- 
pointed and qualified, and who shall be eligible for reappointment and 
may be removed at any time by the governor for cause only. As soon as 
this act shall be in force the governor shall appoint one member whose 
term of office shall expire January 1, 1921, and one member whose term 
shall expire January 1, 1919; thereafter the governor shall appoint one 
member on the-first day of January in each odd-numbered year, and whose 
term of office shall expire on the first day of January four years there- 
after. The members of said commission shall serve without salary or 
other compensation, but the members thereof shall be allowed their actual 
traveling expenses when on official business of the commission. Em- 
ployees of the state may be appointed members of this commission with- 
out vacating their positions or without change of compensation. 

Sec. 3. This commission is hereby authorized to secure such expert 
assistance, clerical and other help, and at such compensation as may be 
necessary to properly carry out the provisions of this act. 



20 Kansas Water Commission, 

Sec. 4. As soon as practical after organization the commission shall, 
in conjunction with the federal government, by way of securing financial 
and professional aid and assistance, work out a systematic general plan 
for the complete development of each watershed in the state in order to 
secure the most advantageous adjustment of the interest involved in 
matters of floods, drainage, irrigation, water power and navigation. 
Where any department of the federal government is now or hereafter may 
be engaged in the development of plans, effecting any of the subjects re- 
ferred to in this act this commission may cooperate with such federal de- 
partment. Water development of all kinds throughout the state shall 
conform to the general plans adopted by the commission. 

Sec. 5. This commission is hereby authorized and directed to establish 
and maintain river gaging stations and to make such surveys and other 
investigations as may be necessary to a complete knowledge of the sub- 
jects herein assigned to it for investigation. 

Sec. 6. The following principles shall guide the commission in its de- 
cisions and plans: (a) Surface or underground waters of the state may 
be appropriated by the federal government by civic decisions, by cor- 
porations, and by individuals upon application to the commission, and in 
accordance with the rules and regulations it may prescribe. Such ap- 
propriations shall not constitute absolute ownership of such waters, but 
shall remain subject to the principle of beneficial use. (b) Where appro- 
priations of water for different purposes conflict they shall take precedence 
in the following order, namely: domestic and transportation water sup- 
ply, irrigation, industrial uses, water power. In each of these decisions 
prior application is to govern in making allotments, (c) Appropriation 
in excess of the reasonable needs of the appropriators not to be allowed. 
(d) Waters appropriated for irrigation are to become appurtenant to the 
lands to which they are applied, and underground waters for all purposes 
to become appurtenant to the lands under which they flow. 

Sec. 7. The commission shall study the laws of the state relating to 
floods, drainage and irrigation, with a view to making such revisions as 
may be necessary to accomplish the ends prescribed in this act, and they 
shall report the results of their investigation and make such recommen- 
dations as they may deem proper to the legislature from time to time. 

Sec. 8. The commission and its agents shall have the power of entry 
on private lands for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 9. All money now in the state treasury received from, or that 
may hereafter be received as compensation for sand taken from any nav- 
igable stream, except such amounts as drainage districts may be entitled 
to under the law, shall be placed in a separate fund, which shall be known 
as the Water Commission fund, and from which fund all expenses and 
obligations of the Water Commission shall be paid. 

Sec. 10. The salaries of all employees of the Water Commission shall 
be fixed by said Water Commission. 

Sec. 11. To carry out the provisions of this act and to cooperate with 
the federal government in all matters pertaining hereto, there is hereby 
appropriated for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, 
the sum of $1,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary; for the fiscal 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 21 

year ending June 30, 1918, the sum of $3,000, or so much thereof as may 
be necessary; and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, the sum of 
$3,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, which shall be expended 
under the direction of the commission. 

Sec. 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its 
publication in the official state paper. 

This act was published in the official state paper on March 
24, 1917. 

THE KANSAS WATER COMMISSION: A REVIEW. 
The Law. 

You will observe that this Water Commission law is, above 
all, brief and comprehensive, and presents a clear and concise 
statement of the state-wide water-conservation policy for 
Kansas. You will note further that the law provides for a 
commission with powers to investigate and control specific 
water problems : flood prevention, drainage, domestic water 
supply, water power, navigation, and irrigation (section 1). 
The magnitude and importance of such a program is worth 
remembering. The present law is the foundation upon which 
to add additional legislation as needed to bring these several 
projects to successful completion. 

The Organization. 

Section 2 provides for the organization of a commission of 
three members : the governor as ex officio chairman, and two 
civil engineers, "who shall be, or be qualified to be, at least 
associate members of the American Society of Civil En- 
gineers." It is obvious to a body of engineers that these prob- 
lems before the Water Commission are engineering matters 
of a high order, that will require broad and intelligent treat- 
ment in their solution. It is altogether fitting that the high 
standards of the American Society of Civil Engineers should 
be adopted for the personnel of the commission. 

It may seem inconsistent that "The members of said com- 
mission shall serve without salary or other compensation," 
or that "employees of the state may be appointed members of 
this commission without vacating their present positions or 
without a change of compensation." These matters are in- 
volved in the financing of the Water Commission, which is of 
particular importance. 



22 Kansas Water Commission. 

How Financed. 

Section 9 of the Water Commission law provides that — 

"All money now in the state treasury received from, or that may 
hereafter be received as compensation for sand taken from any navigable 
stream, except such amounts as drainage districts may be entitled to 
under the law, shall be placed in a separate fund, which shall be known 
as the Water Commission fund, and from which fund all expenses and 
obligations of the Water Commission shall be paid." 

In other words, the investigations of the Kansas Water 
Commission are to be- financed from the revenue derived 
through the workings of the so-called Kansas sand law, passed 
by the 1913 legislature, chapter 259, Session Laws of Kansas, 
1913, which reads in part as follows: 

"An act relating to the sale and taking of sand, oil, gas, gravel, 
mineral and any other natural product whatsoever from the bed of any 
river which is the property of the state or any island therein. . . . 
prescribing certain powers and duties of public officers in relation there- 
to; . . ." 

Under the provisions of this act the natural products that 
had heretofore been taken by private concerns without any 
revenue going to the state treasury are now considered 
natural resources belonging to the state, for which royalties, 
determined by the Executive Council, must be paid into the 
state treasury, ways and means being provided to enforce this 
law. The exception mentioned in section 9 of the Water Com- 
mission law is covered in section 2 of the sand act, as follows : 

"Where any navigable stream extends into or through any drainage 
district in the state, organized under chapter 215 of the Session Laws 
of 1905, and the amendments thereto, the board of directors of such 
district shall be entitled to one-third of the proceeds of such natural 
products or minerals Which the state may sell from within or beneath, 
a portion of the channel of such streams lying within such district, and 
said one-third of the proceeds arising from any such sale shall be paid 
to the treasurer of such drainage district and shall be expended only by 
such district for any of the purposes for which such district was created." 

Litigation Over the Kansas Sand Law and Its Bearing on the Financing 
of the Kansas Water Commission. 

The Kansas sand law was made inoperative by litigation, 
that was still pending before the supreme court of Kansas 
at the time the Kansas Water Commission bill was under con- 
sideration. The means to immediately finance the work of 
the commission were, therefore, not available, so emergency 
measures had to be adopted pending a favorable decision on 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 23 

the constitutionality of the Kansas sand law, in order that the 
state-wide water-conservation policy, as embodied in the 
Water Commission bill, could be adopted by the 1917 legisla- 
ture. For this expediency it became necessary to require the 
commissioners to serve without compensation, and also to en- 
list the support of engineers already in the employ of the state 
in responsible positions to assume these additional reponsi- 
bilities, without compensation, in addition to their regular 
duties. 

To provide for necessary field investigations for stream 
gaging, and to enlist the cooperation of the federal govern- 
ment in this work, small appropriations from the general fund 
were made for the balance of the fiscal year 1917, and for the 
fiscal years 1918 and 1919, respectively. 

Constitutionality of the Kansas Sand Law Determined. 

The supreme court of the state of Kansas in 1917 ruled that 
the Kansas sand law was constitutional. However, the case 
was appealed to the United States supreme court. On No- 
vember 26, 1917, the United States supreme court rendered a 
decision upholding the constitutionality of the Kansas sand 
law, so that the state of Kansas could then assert its sover- 
eignty to the "bed and channel of any river in this state or 
bordering on this state to the middle of the main channel there- 
of and all islands and sand bars lying therein," certain legal ex- 
ceptions to the contrary being specifically mentioned in the 
law (section 6, chapter 259, Session Laws of Kansas, 1913). 

Limitations of the Present Wording of the Water Commission Law. 

The attorney-general has ruled that section 9 of the Water 
Commission law (relating to financing the work from the 
revenue derived from the sand royalties) does not make the 
sand royalties immediately available, but that these moneys 
are held in trust, in a Water Commission fund, subject to fu- 
ture appropriations by the state legislature. This decision pre- 
cludes the formation of a larger organization by the Water 
Commission to advance the work of the commission until an 
appropriation from the Water Commission fund is made by 
the next legislature. Until then the investigations will be re- 
stricted to. the small appropriations made by the last legisla- 
ture and through the cooperation with the United States 
Geological Survey. 



24 Kansas Water Commission. 

FUNCTIONS OF THE KANSAS WATER COMMISSION. 

The functions of the Kansas Water Commission are two: 
(1) Investigation and (2) control of the complete water de- 
velopments of all kinds throughout the state. These will have 
to be planned "to secure the most advantageous adjustment of 
the interest involved in matters of flood, drainage, irrigation, 
water power and navigation," as pointed out in section 4 of the 
Water Commission law. 

Before plans can be made for controlling these several water 
problems, each one a big undertaking in itself, the problems 
themselves must be studied carefully. Certain investigations 
have already been made ; other investigations will also have to 
be made, and all coordinated into the general scheme of the 
Water Commission (section 4) . This will require a trained or- 
ganization to secure and digest these physical data. It must be 
kept constantly in mind that intelligent control of these prob- 
lems can only result from field investigations carefully planned 
and executed, and through critical analyses of their results. 

Investigation of the Flood Problem. 

The flood-control problem for eastern Kansas is one of the 
most ambitious undertakings that the Kansas Water Com- 
mission has before it for solution. Let us consider for a mo- 
ment some of the investigations required for developing such 
a project for Kaw Valley. With the "factors determining 
maximum discharge" in mind (see p. 7), it is clearly seen that 
certain physical data must be available to determine a compre- 
hensive plan for the control of the entire valley. Among these 
data are the following : 

(1) Detailed topographic survey of Kaw Valley, including- Kansas 
River and its principal tributaries, extending to the limits of the flood- 
producing area, and showing — 

(a) Plan; (b) profiles of the bed and water surface referenced to a 
datum plane, preferably mean sea level; (c) extent of flooded areas by 
different floods; (d) location of debris, such as old bridge steel, piers, and 
similar wreckage lying in the bed of the river; (e) character of river 
banks; (/) information from local sources of extent and magnitude of 
past floods. 

(2) Rainfall data for Kaw Valley. 

(3) Run-off (stream-flow data) for main river and principal tribu- 
taries for various points in watershed. 

(4) Investigation of possible reservoir sites. 

(5) Analysis and coordination of all physical data. 

(6) Analysis of possible methods of protection. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 25 

The need for starting some of these investigations without 
delay was appreciated when the Water Commission bill was 
under consideration. Section 5 provides : "This commission is 
hereby authorized and directed to establish and maintain river- 
gaging stations and to make such surveys and other investiga- 
tions as may be necessary to a complete knowledge of the sub- 
jects herein assigned to it for investigation." Section 4 also 
provides that ". ■ . . where any department of the federal gov- 
ernment is now or hereafter may be engaged in the develop- 
ment of plans, effecting any of the subjects referred to in this 
act this commission may cooperate with such federal depart- 
ment. . . ." 

Mention has already been made of the pioneer work of the 
United States Geological Survey in the investigation of stream 
flow in the several drainage basins of Kansas during the period 
from 1895 to 1906, in cooperation with the State Board of 
Irrigation, Survey, Experiment and Demonstration. The 
practical value of the records then secured has been demon- 
strated conclusively in the plans for flood protection at Kansas 
City, and the proposed flood-protection plans for the Neosho 
and the Marais des Cygnes valleys. Also the need for a great 
deal more of these records has been realized in connection with 
these plans. Due to the fact that the work of the United States 
Geological Survey was discontinued in Kansas in 1905 and 
1906, no reliable records of the flood discharges of 1908 and 
1915 are available. 

Cooperation with the United States Geological Survey. 

On May 11, 1917, a cooperative agreement was made be- 
tween the United States Geological Survey and the Kansas 
Water Commission for the investigation of the water resources 
of Kansas. On June 1, 1917, the United States Geological 
Survey opened a district office at room 25, Federal Building, 
Topeka, Kans., with Roger C. Rice as district engineer. 

The joint work of the Kansas Water Commission and the 
Geological Survey has been confined to the establishment of 
river-gaging stations on the more important rivers in eastern 
Kansas, located at strategic points selected as part of the 
systematic investigation of the hydrometric problems of these 
drainage basins. The list of the proposed river-gaging stations 



23 Kansas Water Commission. 

to be established in the near future is given herewith. Those 
already established are noted. 

River-gaging Stations in Kansas, Established or Proposed by the Kansas 
Water Commission, in Cooperation ivith the United States 
Geological Survey. 
Kaw Valley: 

Kansas River basin : 

Kansas River at Ogden. (Established June 19, 1917.) 
Kansas River at Topeka. (Established June 12, 1917.) 
Kansas River at Bonner Springs. (Established July 8, 1917.) 
Blue River basin: 

Blue River — Marysville. 
Blue River — Randolph. 
Republican River basin: 

Republican River — Republic. 

Republican River at Wakefield. (Established June 21, 1917.) 
Solomon River basin: 

Solomon River near Bennington. (Established October 1, 1917.) 
Saline River basin : 

Saline River — Lincoln. 
Smoky Hill River basin. 

Smoky Hill River — Ellsworth. 
Smoky Hill River — Solomon. 
Marais des Cygnes Valley: 

Marais des Cygnes River — Ottawa. 
Marais des Cygnes River — La Cygne. 
Neosho Valley: 

Cottonwood River — Saffordville. 

Little Neosho River — Council Grove. 

Neosho River near Iola. (Established October 12, 1917.) 

Neosho River — Oswego. 

Verdigris Valley: 

Verdigris River — Independence. 

Arkansas Valley: 

Arkansas River — Syracuse. 
Arkansas River — Wichita. 

These proposed river-gaging stations will be established and 
the work expanded as fast as funds will permit. The gaging 
station on Neosho River near Iola is the only one of the es- 
tablished gaging stations equipped with a self-recording gage, 
as such installations in Kansas are expensive, owing to the 
great range of stage between low and high water and the first 
cost of permanent structures. At all gaging stations now in 
operation current meter measurements of discharge are being 
made, in order to determine the daily discharge of the streams 
at these points. 



The Flood Problem, of Kansas. 27 

The financial limitations on the present work require that 
the organization for this stream-gaging investigation be lim- 
ited to the activities of the district engineer. As each spring 
brings a recurrence of serious flood possibilities, this organi- 
zation is entirely inadequate to cope successfuly with the flood 
problem in obtaining the necessary flood data for the future 
work of the Kansas Water Commission. 

Cooperation with the United States Weather Bureau. 

The United States Weather Bureau maintains rainfall sta- 
tions in every county in the state of Kansas, and also main- 
tains river gages at the following points on rivers in Kansas in 
connection with the river forecast work : 

United States Weather Bureau River Gages in Kansas. 

Kaw Valley: 

Kansas River — Wamego. 

Kansas River — Topeka. 

Blue River — Blue Rapids. 

Republican River — Clyde. (To be established in the spring of 1918, 
to replace the discontinued station formerly located at Clay 
Center.) 

Solomon River — Beloit. 

Smoky Hill River — Lindsborg. 

Smoky Hill River — Abilene. 
Neosho Valley: 

Cottonwood River — Emporia. 

Neosho River — Neosho Rapids. 

Neosho River — Iola. 

Neosho River — Oswego. 
Arkansas Valley: 

Arkansas River — Dodge City. 

Arkansas River — Great Bend. 

Arkansas River — Wichita. 

Little Arkansas River — Sedgwick. 

It was the earnest desire of the Kansas Water Commission 
that the stream-gaging work of the United States Geological 
Survey be coordinated as far as possible with the river fore- 
cast work of the United States Weather Bureau. This ser- 
vice is recognized as invaluable by citizens and industries 
within the areas subject to disastrous floods. Definite prog- 
ress in this direction has been accomplished for the Kaw 
Valley. 



28 Kansas Water Commission. 

The central office of the Weather Bureau has made Topeka 
the center of river forecast work for Kaw Valley. Mr. S. D. 
Flora, meteorologist in charge at Topeka, has been granted 
authority to make use of such gaging stations that are main- 
tained by the United States Geological Survey as are needed 
to perfect the river forecast work. The central office has also 
expressed its willingness to assist the Kansas Water Commis- 
sion and the United States Geological Survey further by co- 
operating in the installation of a long-distance recording river 
gage on Kansas River at Topeka. This will materially assist 
in the flood studies of the Kaw Valley. 

Other Cooperation. 

The stream-gaging work of the Kansas Water Commission 
and the United States Geological Survey is receiving the sup- 
port of other state organizations also. The North Topeka 
Drainage District and the South Side Levee District No. 6 
at Topeka are now constructing a suitable concrete well and 
shelter for a long-distance recording river gage on Kansas 
River at Topeka for the Kansas Water Commission, the United 
States Geological Survey, and the United States Weather 
Bureau. It is hoped that other automatic gage installations 
will be installed through similar cooperation. 

STREAM GAGING IN KANSAS. 

Reference has been made to the stream-gaging investiga- 
tions of the United States Geological Survey in Kansas, to the 
establishment of paging stations, and the importance of hav- 
ing stream-flow records for use in the work of the Kansas 
Water Commission. Undoubtedly, certain queries regarding 
the nature of this work occur to you which it may not be out 
of place to anticipate at this time. 

Without going into the subject of stream gaging exten- 
sively, as this is covered in detail by many excellent authori- 
ties, it is well to have in mind a few of the fundamental princi- 
ples governing the selection, construction and operation of a 
gaging station and the field and office procedure necessary to 
secure these records. 

Reconnaissance for Gaging Station. 
A gaging station (PL II, B) consists of suitable equipment 
located on a stream where the total flow is determined. 
A reconnaissance, or inspection, of a stretch of the river in 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 29 

the vicinity of the proposed gaging station is first made for 
the purpose of selecting the best location for the gage and the 
measurement section. t Usually these are at about the same 
point on the river, but if there is no inflow or outflow for a con- 
siderable distance the measurement section may be located up- 
stream or downstream from the gage. Among the chief 
characteristics governing a desirable site for a gaging station 
are these : A fairly straight stretch of river for some distance, 
with the flow confined to a definite channel ; banks high and not 
subject to overflow; where natural flow conditions are steady 
and the velocity measurable; where the natural flow is con- 
trolled by a riffle or outcropping of rock across the channel to 
insure permanency in the stage-discharge relation (the im- 
portance of this relation will be spoken of later). However, 
locations within the influence of power dams are avoided, as 
the stage-discharge relation is affected by regulation at the 
dam. A location within the influence of backwater from a 
large tributary is also avoided, as such conditions affect the 
stage-discharge relation and introduce complications in the 
interpretation Of the base data. 

Gaging stations located in Kansas are far from the desired 
ideal, for the following reasons: (1) The river banks are low, 
and at high stages overflow extensively; (2) the sandy river 
beds shift continually, especially during high water. The re- 
lation between stage and discharge, therefore, becomes un- 
stable, so that frequent discharge measurements are needed to 
define it; (3) reliable discharge measurements are difficult to 
obtain at high stages. 

As records of discharge are essential for improving these 
unfavorable river conditions, gaging stations have to be es- 
tablished and operated with as high an accuracy as possible 
under the existing conditions. It is obvious that such stations 
are more expensive to operate and maintain than those where 
hydrometric conditions are more favorable. 

Construction of Gaging Stations. 

In general, a gaging station requires the following equip- 
ment: 13 

1. A gage or gages for determining fluctuations of stage. 

2. Bench marks for referring the gages to a fixed datum. 

13. "Equipment for current meter gaging stations," by G. J. Lyon, U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey, Water-Supply Paper No. 371, p. 7. 



30 Kansas Water Commission. 

3. Structures from which discharge measurements are made. 

4. Cable and stay line to hold meter in a vertical position when sound- 

ings and velocity observations are made. 

5. Graduated lines to indicate the points of measurement. 

6. Artificial structures, at places where natural control is ineffective, 

to regulate the relation between stage and discharge. 
"Although no one form of any of these items is indispensable, there 
are certain standard types that can, as a rule, be most economically in- 
stalled and that not only facilitate the making of observations but insure 
more accurate results." 

Gages. Two classes of gages are used by the United States 
Geological Survey on river work to measure the fluctuations of 
the water level. These are nonrecording and recording gages. 
Nonrecording gages in common use are the vertical-staff gage, 
the inclined-staff gage, the float gage, and the hook gage. These 
have to be read directly at stated intervals and require the 
service of an observer, who lives, usually, in the vicinity of the 
gage. 

Recording gages (PI. Ill, A) obtain the record of the stage by 
some form of mechanism and operate independently of an ob- 
server. They make a record of stage, either continuously by a 
curve, the coordinates of which indicate the time and the stage, 
or by a device that prints at regular intervals of time. 

Often the selection of a suitable gaging station depends 
primarily on whether or not an observer is available. The re- 
cording gage, however, allows the gaging station to be selected 
at the best location on the river, which is usually isolated. 

In the past few years recording gages have been largely re- 
placing the nonrecording gages on important investigations. 
This change has come about through a better appreciation of 
the value of stream-flow records, the improvement of record- 
ing gages that have been put upon the market, and the demand 
for more accurate determinations of stream flow by cooperat- 
ing parties. On streams utilized for power purposes it was 
found upon investigation that the diurnal fluctuations in stage 
caused by the regulation of the flow by power plants were such 
that the mean flow for 24-hour periods could not be correctly 
computed from one, two, or several readings of a nonrecording 
gage a day, as the form of the water-surface graph was in- 
fluenced by the regulation. This is also true for all streams 
subject to rapidly rising or falling stages, as, for example, dur- 
ing periods of high water; a definite knowledge of the shape 



Kansas Water Commission. 

Flood Problem of Kansas. 



Plate II, 




PRICE CURRENT METERS. 




B. TYPICAL GAGING STATION. 




-^ 




*9 
So 

§ < 

3 H 





The Flood Problem of Kansas, 31 

of the graph is essential for accurate computation of the mean 
daily discharge. Where it is important to know the crest dis- 
charge, unless a recording gage is in operation, the peak height 
is often not observed, so that it is not possible to determine the 
crest discharge accurately. 

Measurement of Discharge: The Current Meter. 

The determination of the discharge of a stream involves the 
measurement of two quantities : area of the cross-section and 
the mean velocity of flow. The practice of the United States 
Geological Survey is to measure the velocity of flow indirectly 
by means of a current meter, an instrument consisting of a 
wheel with cups or vanes, so constructed that the impact of the 
flowing water causes this to revolve, the number of revolutions 
being indicated by means of some form of recording device. 
The instrument has been previously rated, so that for a given 
number of revolutions in a given time the equivalent velocity 
of the flowing water is readily calculated. Current meters may 
be divided into two classes: (1) those of the Price meter type, 
in which the cups revolve about a vertical axis; and (2) those 
of the Haskell or the Fteley type, in which the vanes revolve 
about a horizontal axis. 

The Price current meter (PI. II, A) has been largely developed 
and extensively used by the United States Geological Survey 
in its hydrometric investigations of the United States and the 
territories of Hawaii and Alaska. In its present improved form 
it may be used to measure all sizes of streams. The meter out- 
fit has also been designed to meet the demand for lightness, 
compactness, durability and strength. 

Measurement of Discharge: How Made. 

Discharge measurements may be made by wading or by 
operating the current meter from a bridge or from a movable 
car suspended on a cable stretched across the stream. At low 
stages measurements are usually made by wading, as this en- 
ables the selection of a gaging section upstream or downstream 
from the gage at which the conditions are better for determin- 
ing the discharge than at the regular high-water section. A 
tag line is stretched across the stream to mark the points at 
which soundings and velocity observations are observed, which 
are made by the engineer, who wades into the stream with 



32 Kansas Water Commissioyi. 

the current meter fastened to a graduated rod. At high stages, 
when the meter is used on an insulated cable, it is necessary to 
add lead weights to the meter hanger to keep the meter sub- 
merged. Torpedo-shaped weights have been designed, as 
these offer a minimum of resistance to the water. 

Measurement of Discharge: The Stage-Discharge Relation. 

Each discharge measurement is referenced to the gage, and a 
sufficient number of measurements are made at different stages 
to develop the relation between the stage (gage height) and the 
discharge. These measurements, when plotted with gage 
heights as ordinates and discharge as abscissae, usually define 
some representative curve, generally parabolic in shape, that is 
called the "rating curve" or the "stage-discharge relation." 
When the control for the gage is permanent, this relation be- 
tween the stage and discharge shows little change from year to 
year. Where such favorable conditions are known to exist it is 
possible to anticipate this relation by so arranging the field 
work that measurements may be secured at definite stages that 
will be of greatest value in developing the curve. In this way 
a minimum of field work is required, and the cost of operation 
for the station is low. After the stage-discharge relation has 
been well defined for such a gaging station, only occasional 
measurements are required to check the rating curve from 
year to year. 

Unfortunately, such favorable stream-gaging conditions are 
the exception, rather than the rule, for Kansas rivers. It is 
necessary to keep on making measurements and "rerating" the 
gaging stations, as the unstable river beds do not yield per- 
manent relations between stage and discharge. Not only is 
this an endless procedure, but the occasional high-water periods 
so alter river channels that the stream-gaging work of past 
years is usually of little assistance in the development of new 
rating-curve relations. Failure to secure needed high-water 
measurements in a field season may make it impossible to 
determine the stage-discharge relation for these high-water 
periods. 



The Flood Problem of Kansas. 33 

PUBLICATION OF RESULTS OF STREAM GAGING. 14 

The base data collected each year at the United - States Geological 
Survey gaging stations consist of records of stage, measurements of dis- 
charge, and general information used to supplement the gage heights 
and discharge measurements in determining the daily flow. 

From the discharge measurements rating tables are prepared that 
give the discharge for any stage, and these rating tables, when applied 
to the gage heights, give the discharge from which the daily, monthly 
and yearly mean discharge is determined. 

The data presented for each gaging station in the area covered by 
the several Water-Supply Papers — through which medium these data 
are made available for the public — comprise a description of the station, 
a table giving results of discharge measurements, a table showing the 
daily discharge of the stream, and a table of monthly and yearly dis- 
charge and run-off. If the base data are insufficient to determine the 
daily discharge, tables giving gage heights and the results of discharge 
measurements are published. 

The description of the station gives, in addition to statements re- 
garding location and equipment, information in regard to any conditions 
that may affect the constancy of the stage-discharge relation, covering 
such subjects as the occurrence of ice, the use of the stream for log driv- 
ing, shifting channel, and the cause and effect of backwater ; it gives also 
information as to diversions that decrease the flow at the gage, artificial 
regulation, maximum and minimum recorded stages, and the accuracy of 
the records. 

These data in the published reports cover the year beginning Oc- 
tober 1 and ending September 30. At the 1st of January, in most parts 
of the United States, much of the precipitation in the preceding three 
months is stored as ground water, in the form of snow and ice, or in 
ponds, lakes and swamps, and this stored water passes off in the stream 
during the spring break-up. At the end of September, on the other hand, 
the only stored water available for run-off is possibly a small quantity in 
the ground; therefore, the run-off for the year beginning October 1 is 
practically all derived from precipitation within that year. 

The hydrometric investigations of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey have been carried on continuously since 1888, 
and the results of these have been published in the several an- 
nual publications. Attention is called to the many special 
Water-Supply Papers that have been published in recent years, 
in which long-time records have been compiled and published 
in separate volumes for the convenience of the engineering 
profession and others, who have occasion to make extensive use 
of such data. As previously mentioned, the long-time records 
of stream flow of Kansas streams, secured during the period 

14. Abstracted from "Explanation of data," Water-Supply Paper No. 408, Part VIII 
U. S. Oeol. Survey, "Western Gulf of Mexico Basins," 1917, pp. 9, 10. 



34 Kansas Water Commission. 

1895 to 1906, will be brought together in one volume in the 
near future, and will include also the valuable river-gage rec- 
ords of the United States Weather Bureau and the long-time 
records of rainfall that that bureau has collected. This Water- 
Supply Paper will be known as "The Water Resources of Kan- 
sas," and will, it is believed, prove of great value to engineers 
who have to deal with water problems in this state. 

Summary and Conclusion. 

Within the limited scope of this paper an endeavor has been 
made to present before The Kansas Engineering Society the 
far-reaching importance of an early solution of the flood prob- 
lem and its relation to the agricultural development of Kansas, 
especially under present war-time conditions. The cause and 
effect of disastrous floods in the state have been considered, to- 
gether with the relief measures that have been taken by private 
individuals, and through the cooperation of private, state and 
federal organizations. The growth of a sentiment toward the 
formulation of a state-wide water-conservation policy has been 
sketched, culminating in the deliberations of the Flood and 
Water Congress and the creation of the Kansas Water Com- 
mission, in 1917. The importance of the adoption of this policy, 
as pointed out in a brief analysis of the Water Commission act, 
and the need for future action by the state legislature to 
properly finance the work of the Commission were explained in 
some detail. The pioneer investigations of the United States 
Geological Survey during the period from 1895 to 1906, and 
the renewal of these investigations of stream flow in 1917, in 
cooperation with the Kansas Water Commission, together with 
some considerations of the nature and the scope of these in- 
vestigations, conclude the subject under consideration. 

In conclusion, it is the desire of the co-authors that the sub- 
ject matter covered in this paper be fully discussed by The 
Kansas Engineering Society, as it is only through such means 
that the constructive policy of the Kansas Water Commission 
can be materially guided and assisted to insure the greatest 
benefits to the greatest numbers. 

Prof. H. A. Rice, 

Secretary, Kansas Water Commission. 

Roger C. Rice, 

District Engineer, U. S. Geological Survey. 
January 12, 1918. 






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